


Lost and Found

by unbidden_truth



Category: Saga (Comics)
Genre: Families of Choice, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 06:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1848229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbidden_truth/pseuds/unbidden_truth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Will finds them months later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jouissant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jouissant/gifts).



> Potential spoilers up to Saga #18.

Of course it's a fucking sunny day when he finds them. The sun--a brilliant red orb arching high in the cloudless blue sky. As if she hadn't already learned clichés were lies a long while ago.

She's too absorbed in making sure the mechanic--a dubious title more than anything else-- isn't being stupid with fixing the shuttle. It had been a surprised that anybody knew how to string two wires together, much less understood something as complicated as a shuttle engine on this far-flung backwater planet. Not that Gwendolyn trusts the native mechanic to really understand the engine if the confused looks were anything to go by.

But he was the only person they could find without it pinging on someone's radar. Despite the fact that sometimes people were conscripted to fight in the war as mercenaries, somehow Louvil had managed to avoid the fighting that spilled across the galaxy between Landfall and Wreath. At least officially that is. And then there was that freelancer that's been on their tail ever since they had left The Will in the hospital.

It isn't until the mechanic looks over her shoulder before scrambling back that she even registers that someone is behind her (and she's not sure how she feels about the fact someone had managed to sneak up behind her, even if it's The Will or perhaps more so because it's The Will). Another second to realize that yes, The Will is standing, healthy and whole albeit with a still pink scar running along the side of his neck and with hair. She blames the hair for the briefest of seconds of not recognizing him.

“How did you even find us?” Gwendolyn says in greeting as she takes him in. He looked well-rested, and vastly better than how he had looked when they had left him in the hospital more than a few months back. And the hair makes him look ten years younger. She's not sure how she feels about that.

The Will gives a half-shrug as he turns to stare at the shuttle, “Looks like you took some heavy hits since I saw you last.”

“The Brand,” she says slowly, eyes narrowing at him.  She still hadn't been able to figure out why the other freelancer had been looking for them.

He shifts his eyes away, “Oh, right. I probably should let my sister know she doesn't need to still go avenging me or something.”

“Your sister,” Gwendolyn says incredulously, “How did that happen? No, wait—I don't even want to know.”

“It's a long story,” The Will admits ruefully, “I'm surprised you managed to avoid getting killed. She isn't usually this bad.”

“Well, I think it helps, that she doesn't really know who she is looking for." "She does her homework." "Well maybe I'm better at this, then you think I am. Besides, she's been looking for the Lying Cat or this shuttle, at least according to my sources. Though I think someone might've mentioned Sextillion and something about Slave Girl.”

The Will suddenly looks around, eyes darting as if looking for--

"They're inside."

“Both of them.  Their still with you?” Gwendolyn's not sure if she should feel hurt by the skepticism in his voice.  Maybe at one point he would've been right to question her.

"I didn't leave them behind on some god-forsaken place, if that's what you're wondering," she mutters darkly as she waves the mechanic back to the shuttle.

"Freelancers don't believe in gods."

"Why I'm not surprised."

"So why did you come here of all places?"

Gwendolyn ignores his question  as she gestures him to the house, well rather to the dilapidated shack behind the shuttle.  And really that was an understatement.

He's quiet as he falls in step with her and she can't help but glance over wanting to figure out if The Will was really back.   What that really meant, because if she is a little honest with herself, they had been waiting for him to come back. Despite having to flee across the universe and whatever else she had left back home, there had been something missing.

“So I'm guessing meeting up with your ex didn't turn out the way you wanted?”

Gwendolyn is still furious about that encounter, more so because she had felt a grudging admiration for the guts the woman Marko was shacking up with showed.

“No,” she says shortly but The Will is distracted by being pounced on by a blue feline. He stumbles back a few steps, but then his arms are wrapped around the cat, face breaking out into a wide smile as he puts her down.

“Cat!” The Will says, his voice normally droll voice surprisingly warm.  He crouches low, running his hands the Lying Cat, “I missed you!”

Lying Cat purrs as she head-butts him, nuzzling him for a few seconds before glaring at him.

"I know, I know, I should have come earlier."

Sophie scurries into the room, “Cat, where-” before staggering to a stop.

“The Will,” she says standing unnaturally still.

“Sophie,” The Will says standing up, “you've grown.”

Sophie had grown a few inches and it's still jarring to Gwendolyn, when she notices. And suddenly Gwendolyn realizes how much Sophie had adjusted in the past months, closer to a year as they waited. She was still quiet and there were still nights filled with nightmares, but the uncertainty and fear had began to fade slowly.

“What? I don't get a hug?” The Will tries to joke after almost a minute of tense silence.

“I almost killed you,” Sophie says drawing back, then more resolutely, “You can do whatever you want with me.”

“No, that wasn't your fault Sophie. I don't blame you at all.”

Sophie glance at The Lying Cat, but the cat just stares back at her.

“You're not?” she asks hesitantly. And Gwendolyn wonders how long it'll take to get rid of the young girl's uncertainty. It took weeks for Sophie to really believe that The Lying Cat wasn't upset and months before she believed the cat had forgiven her with whatever happened with The Will.

“I should have noticed something was wrong when I kept on seeing visions of The Stalk everywhere. But I was too stupid to realized we had been poisoned.”

“If Gwendolyn hadn't stopped me in time, you would've--” Sophie starts to say, but Gwendolyn quickly interrupts her, “And I did so and he's apparently ok.”

Sophie carefully approaches The Will still uncertain, and with a sigh The Will pulls her in for a hug, “It's okay. I'm not mad at you.”

“So what are you planning to do? Are you still thinking about retiring?” Gwendolyn asks after a moment after they pull apart.

The Will stares at them before shrugging, “I still have some unfinished business with that robot blue-blood. Has Sophie's abilities returned? Did you find your ex on Quietus?”

“Um,” Gwendolyn pauses, looking at The Lying Cat, “maybe?”

"You're still looking to find your ex right?" There's an underlying tension in that question that makes Gwendolyn curious.

"Maybe?"

"Lying."

“Well,” Gwendolyn amends, “not exactly. But you still want to avenge your ex right?”

“Yeah.”

"Lying."

They both glare at the Lying Cat.

"I really am surprised you didn't get rid of her."

"Trust me, I'm surprised too."

"But we're still chasing your ex?"

"Yeah, because it's one of the reasons the High Command let me leave my position."

  
“Then what are we waiting for?”

“The shuttle getting repaired?”

“Well after that. Then we can figure out where to go next. It'll be like when I first met you.”

“Lying.”

Gwendolyn ignores Lying Cat and ruthlessly squashes the memory of telling Marko about her feelings for The Will. She is still struggling with the fact that she had any feelings for The Will beyond loathing or at least casual indifference.

There are things that she needs to tell The Will, things she wants to say but isn't ready to say.  There are things she wants to know, _wants to ask_ , like how he found them or whether he still is uncertain about his quest for vengeance.  But as she watches The Will quietly listen to Sophie as the young girl gesture around the shack they had been staying at and the Lying Cat following The Will closely, every few minutes leaning against his legs as if to make sure he's really there, Gwendolyn feels her heart lighten. 

For once in a long time, she's happier than she's been.  It takes her by surprise that it's something as easy as this.  It should've made her scared, but then as she turns to look back at them, she's willing to stop and hold onto this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Jouissant, I hope this is something you like! I love this comic and when the pinch hit came up, I dawdle for a few days not sure if I could do justice to the canon. But thank you for requesting this fandom! There were so many things I wanted to write, before I settled on this (trying to keep my ambitions within the limited time frame :) I wanted to do more and I hope you forgive me that this shorter than I would've liked.


End file.
